Secluded Cultivation

After seeing Gao Hui off, Yang Lingqing returned to the ancestral hall.

Elder Yu, Lingrui, and Linghu were all currently in Sanglu Valley, leaving only her in the main courtyard of the Restricted Grounds.

Yang Lingqing stood within the ancestral hall, silent for a long time.

Chen Yang watched her. Within the short span of a quarter-hour, he saw a multitude of complex emotions shift through her eyes.

There was excitement, worry, fear, and helplessness...

But when she opened her mouth to speak, all these emotions were replaced by a look of resolute determination.

This child was still the same as she had been over four years ago. She never showed her emotions in front of others; only when no one else was around would she let down her guard and speak a few words alone to the Immortal Venerable.

"Immortal Venerable, the grand momentum cannot be reversed. Only by moving with the tide can we seek a turning point."

Her voice rang with firm resolve. "Since we have entered the game, there will be no complaints! Lingqing will do her utmost to find a path through this dead end for the Yang Family!"

"I will not fail the Immortal Venerable's profound grace, nor the Old Ancestor's heavy trust!"

With that, she took a step back and offered a deep, worshipful bow to Chen Yang.

Chen Yang had naturally heard the previous conversation between her and Gao Hui, and his judgment largely aligned with hers.

Weakness was the original sin. The Yang Family had no choice.

If they did not become chess pieces, they would only be devoured as food in this sweeping tide.

"Ten years..."

Chen Yang muttered silently in his heart.

This was the time limit Gao Hui had just mentioned-the deadline He Shenglai had given Yang Lingrui to break through to the late stage.

That would be the moment when the Wangchao finished laying out its chessboard and began its move.

"Hmm, time is indeed tight. I don't know how long I will need to sleep to break through to Perfection. I need to hurry."

For the following year, Chen Yang immersed his entire heart and mind into the Dao of Talismans, spending his days continuously refining Talismans.

Many things happened during this year.

The Yang Family's first batch of thirty-six Fire Talismans was delivered in Fengling. To guard against the possibility of sleeping too long, Chen Yang refined an additional two years' worth of reserves.

At the same time, to fulfill their duty to the Su Family, he prepared sixty Divine Movement Talismans, ready to be delivered to the Immortal Patrol Office in Wangyue City at a rate of twenty per year.

As life-saving measures, he also refined five Vajra Talismans and five Mountain-Splitting Talismans. Among them was one high-grade piece of each, which should be sufficient to handle any trouble.

The buildings within Sanglu Valley had been fully repaired, and Elder Yu personally made arrangements for the cave dwelling there.

Afterward, adhering to He Shenglai's demands, Elder Yu, Yang Linghu, and Wu Tong-three cultivators-led Yang Xiaolei and three lineage branches of the main Yang Family, along with several prominent households from the South Bank and commoners who had rendered meritorious service to the Yang Family, to relocate into Sanglu Valley, formally establishing the branch family.

From then on, the Yang Family was considered officially rooted in the Qinghe region.

The prominent households from the South Bank and the meritorious commoners became new collateral surname clans, while commoners who came out of admiration to seek refuge established new villages at the three entrances of Sanglu Valley.

Having received the Wangchao's rewards and growing wealthy in Spirit Crystals, Yang Lingqing equipped every Yang Family cultivator with Storage Bags and offensive and defensive Spiritual Treasures. She also strengthened and constructed new Formations for both the Songshan main family and the Sanglu Valley branch family.

Now, the three layers of Formations for alert, defense, and attack were fully prepared, and all were at the late Qi Gathering level.

With these arrangements complete, the Yang Family's overall strength rose another tier. They no longer needed to feel the same dread and panic as before when facing late Qi Gathering cultivators.

As for the two Marrow-Washing Pills, the premium one was given to Yang Lingrui, while the inferior one was given to Liang Yi.

Liang Yi, aware of his own mediocre aptitude, did not dare harbor hopes of obtaining the premium Marrow-Washing Pill. Thus, he sought out Yang Lingqing to express his thoughts.

In his view, Zhao Qi and Wu Tong were still young; it would be a waste for either of them to consume this inferior Marrow-Washing Pill.

Given his own age and aptitude, he felt he was not worth the Family Head investing too many resources.

Encountering this Pill now was a stroke of good fortune, so he came to request it from Yang Lingqing.

Thanks to years of accumulated foundation, three months after consuming the Marrow-Washing Pill, Liang Yi successfully broke through to the Second Layer of Qi Gathering.

After the branch family spent half a year stabilizing, the Yang Family set about integrating the various large and small families within the three-town region.

Previously, in the two-town region, they had not considered acting this way, but now that they had received the Wangchao's decree, they could act with a justified cause.

Possessing crushing superiority in cultivator realms and numbers, coupled with Yang Lingqing stepping forward personally, the Yang Family took less than two months to bring all twelve independent families with cultivator leadership in the three-town region onto their boat.

Yang Lingqing essentially did not use any forceful methods.

She merely displayed their strength first, then lowered her posture to negotiate with these families, clearly laying out the pros and cons. Most families were clear-headed enough to understand.

Of course, there were two families whose minds did not seem very clear.

Seeing her lower her posture, they arrogantly assumed the Yang Family had encountered some difficulty and needed their help, prompting them to try and have a lion open its mouth wide.

Faced with such a situation, Yang Lingqing did not say much. She simply stepped aside in silence, leaving the stage to her two brothers.

After Yang Lingrui and Yang Linghu's cordial greetings, these two families finally recognized reality. No sooner had the Yang Family left than they came bearing gifts to apologize.

By the time all this was done, the day for Chen Yang's Secluded Cultivation had nearly arrived.

Elder Yu personally brought him to the cave dwelling at the bottom of Sanglu Valley.

"This cave dwelling will be personally guarded by this old man. No one will disturb you. The Immortal Venerable may enter Secluded Cultivation with peace of mind."

Elder Yu placed Chen Yang upon the jade platform, bowed respectfully, and retreated backward out of the cave dwelling.

"Hmm, everything that should be done and could be done has been done. Let's begin."

Chen Yang took the Mother Jade out of the Storage Bag and activated his devouring ability.

As its internal spiritual essence was absorbed by Chen Yang, the Mother Jade gradually shrank in size. His own body began to slowly expand, and cracks gradually appeared on its surface.

Although he felt no physical sensation, looking at his cracking body through his outward-projected spiritual sense still gave Chen Yang a twinge of phantom pain.

Fortunately, relying on the excellent elasticity of the gel layer beneath his surface, Chen Yang did not shatter apart.

The gel layer continuously stretched until it became a transparent film, and Chen Yang's body swelled to twice its original size.

Burp-, burp-, burp-

Caw!

This meal had left Chen Yang thoroughly stuffed. After letting out this long string of burps, his consciousness did not linger for even a second longer. He only felt darkness sweep over his vision before remembering nothing else.

However, judging by his swollen body, one year might truly not be enough to digest it all.

During the first year after Chen Yang entered Secluded Cultivation, three major events occurred.

The first.

A group of evil cultivators from the Eastern Wasteland took advantage of the chaos to infiltrate the territory of the Zhuhu Wangchao. Among them, three followed the eastern mountain range southward and arrived in the Qinghe boundaries.

To practice their evil arts, they secretly abducted many commoners.

Upon discovering their traces, the Yang Family exercised their authority, mobilizing the cultivators from their twelve subordinate families to strike together. It took three months before they finally cornered and killed the trio deep in the mountains.

Because of this, the Wangchao issued rewards to all participating families and granted the Yang Family an additional commendation decree worth one thousand five hundred Wangchao merit points.

With this decree, the Yang Family could exchange for various rare and precious items from the Wangchao Treasury through Gao Hui.

The second.

Li Family Ancestor Li Yuande brought Li Qingwan into the imperial capital, Chongtian City.

On the very next day after they entered the capital, the Li Family's Second Young Master, Li Cheng, was secretly assassinated and died of his wounds. The Li Family plunged into great chaos.

One month later, the Li Family ultimately failed to survive that year's winter and completely collapsed. The family's cultivators fought over the remaining assets and hurriedly scattered to seek their own futures.

Thus, the Li Family-which had stood in the Wangyue City region for a century and was heralded as the number one clan beneath the aristocratic families-met its definitive end.

The third.

Yang Lingrui broke through to the Fifth Layer of Qi Gathering.

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